Lying to FBI can equal prison time

Lodians Umer, Hamid Hayat among celebrities, public figures that are facing false statement charges

The director of "Die Hard."

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.

Household icon Martha Stewart.

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Lynn Bedford.

Lodi ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat and his son, Hamid Hayat.

The names couldn't be more varied, but they all have one thing in common: Each one has been charged with lying to federal agents.

Umer and Hamid Hayat, who each face years in prison if convicted, waited through Tuesday as jurors continued deliberating. Jurors reached no verdict by day's end.

It's not a crime to lie to state and local police — though it is a misdemeanor to provide a false name — but any lie told to federal investigators can turn into a criminal charge. And it may be becoming a more common accusation, though some say it could lead to people clamming up altogether instead of speaking to federal agents.

For Bedford, who was charged in a public corruption scandal that ultimately brought down former Sheriff Baxter Dunn, his guilty plea led to six months in a minimum security prison. Stewart, who was convicted of lying and other charges in connection with insider stock trading, also spent six months behind bars.

For Umer Hayat, charged with two counts of lying about his alleged knowledge of terror training camps in Pakistan, it could lead to a 16-year prison sentence.

Making false statements is generally not considered a serious charge, said Quin Denvir, who spent 10 years as Sacramento's chief federal defender before going into private practice last fall. For that reason, it's not a common charge in U.S. Eastern District court, where he has practiced.

Typically, defendants face much more serious charges, Denvir said. For instance, a defendant might be accused of lying about robbing a bank, but a bank robbery charge on its own is much more serious. In most cases, lying charges are added when prosecutors want to get the maximum sentence for a defendant, Denvir said.

Umer Hayat, 48, is only charged with making false statements, and faces no other charges. What that typically means, Denvir said, is that the government and investigators couldn't find evidence to prove any other charges.

"If that's all (the defendant) is charged with, that's all they've got, because it's considered a less serious charge," he said.

Investigator James Wedick, who spent 34 years with the FBI and was hired to help the Hayat defense team, agreed that a lying charge is not common.

"It's unusual because the bureau doesn't want it to be known that if you go out and talk to an FBI agent, you could get prosecuted. It stymies people from helping with prosecutions," he said.

But that seems to be changing, Wedick said.

For instance, in a case taking Hollywood by storm, federal officials are probing a private investigator accused of illegal wiretapping. Movie director John McTiernan, who is also known for making "Predator" and "The Hunt for Red October," was charged with lying by denying that he knew about the wiretapping. He pleaded guilty Monday.

Whether that charge would have been brought a decade ago is not known, but it was a decade ago that Wedick himself wanted lying charges brought against a Clovis man — and prosecutors said no.

In that public corruption case in Fresno, 17 people were ultimately charged and convicted, said Wedick, who specialized in white collar crimes and was deeply involved in the investigation.

He wanted to charge a councilman's brother with lying about taking a bribe, but prosecutors never did file the charge.

"Their reasoning was just what my reasoning is today: You've got to use it judiciously," Wedick said.

But, he said, 10 years later things seem to have changed.

In the Hayat case, prosecutors leaned heavily on statements the father and son made to FBI agents. The videotaped interviews seem to be just as important to the juries, too, both of which asked to watch the entire interviews all over again shortly after they started deliberations.

Hamid Hayat is charged with three counts of lying to the FBI about his alleged knowledge of and attendance at terror training camps. He is also charged with providing material support to terrorists and faces as much as 39 years in prison.

Others charged with lying include I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former right-hand man who is accused in connection with leaking classified information.

The U.S. Department of Justice's policy is to not charge a suspect with lying if the suspect has only denied guilt during questioning, according to the department's Web site.

But, as in the case of confessed 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be charged in connection with the attacks, prosecutors will file charges if the lies impede their investigation. Authorities said that if Moussaoui had been truthful, they could have prevented the attacks. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and a jury is hearing evidence to determine whether he should be executed or imprisoned for life.

In the Lodi case, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott has previously said the government has a variety of resources at its disposal. For instance, two Lodi Muslim imams and one of their sons were arrested during the terrorism investigation but ultimately deported without ever being charged criminally.

Umer Hayat, a U.S. citizen, and his son, who was born in Stockton, have rights to stay in the country.

Had they never agreed to speak with FBI agents last June, they might still be at home in Lodi.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

First published: Wednesday, April 19, 2006